NCUA Bans MCU CEO Accused of Stealing Millions

The NCUA board took an unusual action Thursday to ban CEO Kam Wong —  accused of stealing millions — from participating in the affairs of any federally insured financial institution so that he would no longer pose a threat to the interests of Municipal Credit Union members and impair public confidence in one of New York’s largest credit unions.

What’s more, the board of directors of the $2.8 billion MCU voted Wednesday to begin termination proceedings against Wong based on the findings of an ongoing internal investigation led by the credit union’s outside counsel.

Although a criminal complaint was filed in Manhattan’s federal court on May 8 against the 62-year-old Wong with allegations that he stole millions from MCU over five years, he has not been yet been indicted and formally arraigned on felony charges.

Typically, the NCUA places former credit union employees on its prohibition list after they have been convicted of theft, embezzlement or other fraud crimes.

“After determining that continued service or participation by Wong in the credit union’s operations may pose a threat to the interests of the credit union’s members or may threaten to impair public confidence in the credit union, the NCUA Board issued a notice prohibiting Wong from further participation in the affairs of any credit union,” the NCUA said in a prepared statement.

MCU said it became aware of NCUA’s prohibition order against Wong on Wednesday during the credit union’s special board meeting.

“While MCU placed Mr. Wong on administrative leave in February, and MCU will fully honor the due process requirement in Mr. Wong’s contract, it looks forward to a swift conclusion of the termination process,” MCU said in a prepared statement Thursday. “This is an ongoing investigation and we are unable to comment further at this time.”

The federal criminal complaint alleges that Wong committed embezzlement, bank fraud, wire fraud and aggravated identify theft.

According to federal investigators, Wong’s alleged schemes included getting reimbursed for fake dental work; personal tax liabilities; millions in cash payments in lieu of long-term disability insurance payments and millions more for taxes to cover those payments; fake car repair bills on one of his luxury cars leased to him by the credit union; educational, housing and living expenses for two relatives; annual cash advances; ATM withdrawals and cash payments in place of 320 sick days he never used that violated his contract.

Wong deposited the funds from his alleged schemes into an MCU account. He then withdrew approximately $1.9 million via ATMs over the course of more than 2,500 transactions – an average of more than one and a half transactions per day from which from July 2013 and January 2018.

Federal investigations also determined Wong bought $3.5 million in New York lottery tickets, and he also borrowed money from two individuals to buy even more lottery tickets.

The CEO is free on a $1 million bond that was secured by his home on Long Island’s Valley Stream. He was also ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device and undergo a mental health evaluation and treatment, according to court documents.

His conditions of release also require Wong to not have any contact with MCU employees or board members, and to refrain from “possessing the identification of others.”

A June 7th preliminary hearing is scheduled for Wong.